Buckeyes Get Chance For Revenge in CFP Second-Round Game in Pasadena

Ohio State Looking to Carry Momentum and Avenge October Loss Against Oregon in West-Coast Rematch

The No. 8-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes have a long-awaited date with the No.1-seed Oregon Ducks in Pasadena, California, at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Bucks and Ducks played in arguably the game of the year on October 12th, with Oregon narrowly escaping Ohio State 32-31.

Both teams had moments of brilliance in that game, and to many, these are the top two teams in college football. In most previews, I have discussed the season stats, but for this enormous matchup, I will highlight each team’s previous outing and that October game that came down to the final seconds.

Ohio State Put It All Together vs Tennessee

The Buckeyes welcomed their SEC foe, the No. 9-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, to a chilly first-round matchup in the Shoe on December 21st. Throughout the week, Tennessee fans trash-talked, claiming they would take over the Horseshoe and win the game.

Yeah, neither of those happened. I was there, and while Tennessee did have some orange in the crowd and around Columbus, they were all very quiet after the first five minutes of the game. That’s because what matters takes place on the field, and the Buckeyes shut up all of the doubters from the get-go on a chilly Saturday night.

Jeremiah Smith, Quinshon Judkins, and TreVeyon Henderson all found the end zone in the first quarter to help the Buckeyes build up a quick 21-0 lead. Tennessee cut the lead to 21-10 at halftime before Smith and Judkins put the game away in the third quarter with their 2nd touchdowns of the game. Henderson tacked on his 2nd touchdown on a great 24-yard run; that was all she wrote. It was a 42-17 dominant victory for the Scarlet and Gray.

On offense, quarterback Will Howard had a great day, completing 24 of his 29 passes with one questionable interception that should have been flagged for defensive pass interference. He threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns, with Smith hauling in both touchdowns to go with 103 yards. Emeka Egbuka tacked on 81 yards receiving, and nine different receivers had a catch for the scarlet and gray.

On the ground, TreVeyon Henderson seemed to make big play after big play en route to 80 rushing yards on just 10 carries, adding 54 receiving yards on four catches. His two rushing touchdowns showcased his elite skill set and proved why he will be a name to watch on Sundays. Quinshon Judkins got a lot of short-game work and had 10 carries for 34 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

The offense did a great job of pulling guards, opening lanes, running outside the numbers, and spreading the ball around. This was a lot different than they did against TTUN, ultimately leading to a beatdown. If they continue those trends against the Ducks, it will only bode well on the scoreboard.

The Silver Bullets defense made huge plays every drive and held Tennessee to 104 passing yards, with Nico Iamaleava going 14/31. A lot of yards came down the stretch, and with backups in, and star running back Dylan Sampson had just two carries before suffering an injury. Taking both into account, it was impressive to see Ohio State outrush Tennessee even with all the success through the air, given the Volunteers talented defensive line we heard about all week leading up to the game.

Tennessee finished with 152 rushing yards with a 3.9 yards per carry average and scored both their touchdowns on the ground. Ohio State had six tackles for loss and four sacks, with Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau combining four tackles for loss and three and a half sacks. Cody Simon had 12 tackles, Caleb Downs added seven, and the entire defense gave the Volunteers all they could handle for four quarters.

Oregon Has Had Better Moments

The Ducks claimed their first Big Ten championship in their first season in the conference by defeating Penn State 45-37 on December 7th. On offense, Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel picked apart the defense en route to 283 passing yards and four passing touchdowns.

Tez Johnson had a huge day, finishing with 11 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Oregon had two guys rush for 80 yards and had 186 total yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns by Jordan James.

You know what you are going to get out of the Oregon offense, which has scored points against everyone it has played. However, the defense left a lot to be desired in their last outing.

Penn State ran the ball all over the Ducks even though they trailed from start to finish. The Nittany Lions had 297 yards on the ground and averaged 8.7 yards per carry with two rushing touchdowns. Both Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton had over 100 yards and averaged 8.9 and 10.8 yards, respectively.

The Ducks’ defense forced two interceptions but registered just one sack. By the time the game rolls around, they haven’t played in nearly a month and have had a lot of time to think about their last showing, in which they did not play their best but still won a trophy.

The Buckeyes Get Their Revenge

The 32-31 loss at Oregon was the first loss of the season for Ohio State, which lost to TTUN in the regular-season finale. The Buckeyes led almost the entirety of the game before going down by one with under two minutes left.

A late offensive pass interference and a slide a second too late cost the Buckeyes, which had a solid game overall. Will Howard had 326 through the air, and Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka combined for 19 catches, 193 yards, and two touchdowns. TreVeyon Henderson powered the ground game with 8.7 yards per carry, while Quinshon Judkins struggled and had one of two Buckeyes fumbles on the day.

The defense didn’t register a sack or a turnover in that game and left a lot to be desired. Dillon Gabriel threw for 341, with Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart combining for 14 catches, 224 yards, and two touchdowns. The Ducks averaged 5.0 yards per carry and had 155 yards on the ground in the game.

That game feels like it was a long time ago. While much has remained the same, there have been plenty of changes since the mid-October clash between the top three teams. 

Ohio State has had some huge injuries along the offensive line and suffered its worst loss in a decade-plus to its rival, but it put together its best performance of the season in its last game against Tennessee. Oregon finished the year unbeaten and won a conference championship, but it didn’t have its best showing in its last game against Penn State.

So, what gives? Ohio State is playing their best ball on offense and defense after what they did to the Volunteers, and Oregon feels very due for a loss with how they’ve shown their weaknesses, albeit small, at times.

I think Ohio State silences all of the doubters once again as they look to complete the one goal they have that’s still in front of them. I expect the leaders to step up and the Buckeyes to lead coast-to-coast, this time finishing the job.

Ohio State opened as one-point favorites, but they are two-and-a-half points with the over/under at 55.5 points after an original 53.5-point in the Buckeyes and the points on one of the greatest stages in sports. My prediction is the same as it was the first time these two heavyweights clashed. The Buckeyes handle business and head to Dallas for the College Football Playoff semi-final.

Prediction: Ohio State 34 Oregon 24